Slovenije
Rado Bohinc l. r.
Za Švicarski zvezni
svet
Christoph Blocher l. r.
Republike Slovenije
Rado Bohinc l. r.
Za Zvezno ministrstvo za
pravosodje in policijo
Švicarske konfederacije
Christoph Blocher l. r.
The Government of the Republic of Slovenia
and
The Swiss Federal Council
hereinafter referred to as the Contracting Parties,
wishing to further co-operate in order to ensure better implementation of the provisions on the movement of persons,
desirous to facilitate the readmission and the transit of persons whose stay has not been authorised, in a spirit of co-operation and on the basis of reciprocity,
taking into account the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 4 November 1950 and the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, signed at Geneva on 28 July 1951, as amended by the Protocol, signed at New York on 31 January 1967,
determined to fight against illegal migration,
have agreed as follows:
I – DEFINITION
Article 1
For the purposes of this Agreement the term alien shall mean a person who is neither a Slovenian nor a Swiss national. An alien can also be a stateless person.
II – READMISSION OF NATIONALS OF THE
CONTRACTING PARTIES
Article 2
(1) At the request of the other Contracting Party, each Contracting Party shall readmit to its territory without any formalities a person who does not fulfil or no longer fulfils the requirements for entry or residence applicable on the territory of the requesting Contracting Party, provided that it is proved or can be reasonably assumed that he or she possesses the nationality of the requested Contracting Party.
(2) The requesting Contracting Party shall readmit such a person to its own territory under the same condition, if checks later reveal that he or she did not in fact possess the nationality of the requested Contracting Party at the time when he or she left the territory of the requesting Contracting Party.
(3) For the purposes of this Article, the nationality of the person can be proved by means of the documents listed in the Protocol.
Article 3
(1) If nationality is presumed on the basis of the documents and information listed in the Protocol, the consular authorities of the requested Contracting Party shall within three working days issue the person to be readmitted with the (emergency) travel documents required for his or her repatriation.
(2) If a person's nationality cannot be proved or reasonably assumed on the basis of the documents supplied, the consular authorities of the requested Contracting Party shall conduct interviews with the person in the process of readmission within six working days after receipt of the readmission application. The interview shall be organised by the requesting Contracting Party in consultation with the consular authority concerned within the shortest time possible.
(3) If the nationality of the person in the process of readmission is established or reasonably assumed during the interview conducted by the consulate of the requested Contracting Party, the consulate shall immediately issue an (emergency) travel document but, in any case, not later than nine working days after receipt of the readmission application.
III – READMISSION OF ALIENS
Article 4
(1) Each Contracting Party shall readmit at the request of the other Contracting Party without any formalities an alien who, during the nine months preceding the submission of the request, left the territory of the requested Contracting Party after having stayed there at least two weeks.
(2) At the request of the other Contracting Party, each Contracting Party shall readmit without any formalities any alien who does not fulfil the requirements for entry or residence applicable on the territory of the requesting Contracting Party if this person possesses a valid visa or a residence permit of any kind whatsoever, issued by the requested Contracting Party. This provision does not include the temporary permission to reside on the territory of the State of a Contracting Party granted in relation to the handling of an asylum application.
Article 5
The readmission obligation pursuant to Article 4 shall not apply in respect of:
a) aliens who have entered legally the territory of the requesting Contracting Party or have been issued by the requesting Contracting Party with a visa or a residence permit, unless the requested Contracting Party has issued a valid visa or residence permit with a longer validity;
b) aliens who have stayed longer than six months on the territory of the requesting Contracting Party, unless they are holders of a valid residence permit issued by the requested Contracting Party;
c) aliens in whose case the requesting Contracting Party has either recognised refugee status in accordance with the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, signed at Geneva on 28 July 1951, as amended by the Protocol, signed at New York on 31 January 1967, or the status of a stateless person in accordance with the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, signed at New York on 28 September 1954;
d) aliens who have effectively been repatriated by the requested Contracting Party to their country of origin or to a third State on condition that they did not enter the territory of the requesting Contracting Party after having stayed on the territory of the requested Contracting Party after the repatriation measure has been carried out.
Article 6
(1) For the purposes of Article 4, paragraph 1, entry or residence of the alien into or on the territory of the requested Contracting Party can be proved by means of the documents listed in the Protocol. Entry or residence may also be established by any other means of proof specified in the Protocol. Existence of such proof shall establish a presumption of entry or residence.
(2) A readmission application shall be directly communicated between the authorities concerned, under the conditions specified by the Protocol.
Article 7
The requesting Contracting Party shall readmit to its territory any person if, on the basis of subsequent verification after his or her readmission by the requested Contracting Party, it is shown that this person did not fulfil the conditions provided in Article 4 at the moment of his or her departure from the territory of the requesting Contracting Party.
IV – TRANSIT
Article 8
(1) Each Contracting Party at the request of the other Contracting Party shall allow transit of an alien through its territory on condition that the requesting Contracting Party has ensured admission to the country of destination or any other transit country. In this case the alien in transit does not need a transit visa.
(2) The requesting Contracting Party shall remain responsible for the whole duration of the journey of an alien to his or her country of destination and shall readmit such a person if admission to the country of destination or any other transit country has been refused or cannot be carried out for any reason whatsoever.
(3) For the purposes of transit, the requesting Contracting Party must indicate to the requested Contracting Party, whether it is necessary to provide the person subject to this decision with an escort. For the purposes of transit, the requested Contracting Party may:
a) decide to provide the escort itself, on condition that the requesting Contracting Party reimburses the corresponding costs;
b) decide to provide the escort in collaboration with the requesting Contracting Party;
c) authorise the requesting Contracting Party to provide the escort itself on the territory of the requested Contracting Party.
In the last two cases, the escort of the requesting Contracting Party shall be placed under the authority of the competent services of the requested Contracting Party.
Article 9
The application for a transit permit shall be directly communicated between the authorities concerned, under the conditions specified by the Protocol.
Article 10
(1) If transit is conducted under escort, the escorting officials of the requesting Contracting Party shall carry out their mission unarmed and shall carry a transit authorisation.
(2) The escort shall be responsible for the alien's surveillance and boarding of the plane, with the assistance and under the authority of the requested Contracting Party.
(3) If necessary, the requested Contracting Party may take over the responsibility for the alien's surveillance and boarding of the plane, after consultation with the escort.
(4) The requesting Contracting Party must take all necessary steps to ensure that the alien transits through the airport of the requested Contracting Party as quickly as possible.
Article 11
(1) If transit is conducted without escort, surveillance and boarding shall be undertaken by officials of the requested Contracting Party.
(2) Surveillance may not exceed 24 hours after arrival at the airport.
Article 12
In the event of a refusal or the impossibility of boarding on the part of the person in the course of transit, the requesting Contracting Party shall either
a) readmit the latter immediately or at the latest within twenty-four hours after arrival at the airport, if the person in the process of transit is unescorted, or
b) ask the requested Contracting Party to have the person in the process of transit board the plane again and, in the meantime, to ensure the surveillance of this person. The length of surveillance may not exceed the time strictly required for his or her departure and, in any case, twenty-four hours after arrival at the airport. Should the requested Contracting Party not agree with this proposal, the requesting Contracting Party undertakes to readmit without delay the alien for whom it had requested transit or, in the event of force majeure, within a new time limit of twenty-four hours. The refusal to board a plane in a transit State will result in the same legal consequences as those provided by the legislation of the requesting Contracting Party if such a refusal took place on its own territory.
Article 13
The authorities of the transit State shall indicate to the authorities of the requesting Contracting Party all the facts relating to any incidents during transit.
Article 14
(1) The authorities of the transit State shall grant the escorting officials of the requesting Contracting Party, in the exercise of their function within the framework of this Agreement, the same protection and assistance as they would grant to the corresponding officials of their own country.
(2) During the transit, escorting officials operating in the territory of the other Contracting Party shall be regarded as officials of that Contracting Party with respect to offences committed against them or by them. The escorting officials in charge of the transit are subject to the provisions of the law of the Contracting Party in whose territory they are operating.
Article 15
The escorting officials in charge of the transit must at all times be able to prove that they are acting in an official capacity and carry a document certifying that the transit authorisation has been granted by the requested Contracting Party.
Article 16
(1) If an escorting official of the requesting Contracting Party, while operating a transit on the territory of the other Contracting Party, suffers damage during the execution or in the course of the mission, the requesting Contracting Party is responsible for paying the compensation due, without seeking redress from the requested Contracting Party.
(2) Where, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, escorting officials of a Contracting Party are operating in the territory of the other Contracting Party, the requesting Contracting Party shall be liable for any damage caused by them during their operations, in accordance with the national law of the Contracting Party in whose territory they are operating.
(3) If the injured person seeks compensation from the requested Contracting Party referred to in paragraph 2 of the present article, the requested Contracting Party shall be held liable for such damage under the conditions applicable for the damage as if it was caused by its own officials. The Contracting Party whose officials have caused damage to any person in the territory of another Contracting Party shall reimburse the latter in full any sums it has paid to the injured person or persons entitled on their behalf.
(4) Without prejudice to the exercise of its rights vis-à-vis third persons and with the exception of paragraph 3, each Contracting Party shall refrain in the case provided for in paragraph 2 from requesting compensation for damage it has sustained from another Contracting Party.
Article 17
Transit can be refused:
a) if the alien runs the real risk of being subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment or the death penalty or of persecution because of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political conviction in the State of destination or another State of transit;
b) if, in the country of destination or any country of transit, the alien runs the risk of being accused or sentenced by a criminal court for events which happened before transit.
V – DATA PROTECTION
Article 18
(1) In so far as personal data shall be communicated in order to implement this Agreement, the data shall be collected, treated and protected according to national and international law. In particular, the following criteria shall be observed:
a) The recipient Contracting Party shall use the communicated data only for the purpose stated in this Agreement and under the conditions set by the communicating Contracting Party.
b) If asked, the recipient Contracting Party shall inform the communicating Contracting Party about how the data will be used and the results thereby obtained.
c) Personal data may only be communicated to and used by the competent authorities responsible for implementing this Agreement in such a manner as to prevent access to such data by unauthorised persons. The communicating Contracting Party must give its written consent before the data can be further communicated to other bodies.
d) The Contracting Party communicating the data shall ensure that it is accurate, necessary, and does not exceed the requirements of the purposes for which it is communicated. If the data is inaccurate or has been communicated illegally, the recipient Contracting Party shall be informed of this immediately and shall correct or destroy the data.
e) At his or her request, any person shall be informed about the communication of any data relating to himself or herself as well as about its intended purpose.
f) Communicated personal data shall only be stored for as long as it is required for the purposes for which it was communicated. Each Contracting Party shall entrust an appropriate independent body with control of the processing and use of the stored data.
g) The communicating and the recipient authorities are under the obligation to make a written record of the communication and receipt of personal data.
h) Each Contracting Party shall protect communicated personal data against unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.
(2) Personal data communicated in relation to the readmission of persons may only concern the following:
a) particulars of the person to be transferred and, where necessary, of the members of the person's family (surname, forename, any previous names, nicknames or pseudonyms, aliases, date and place of birth, sex, current and any previous nationality);
b) passport, identity card or any other identity and travel documents;
c) other details which are needed to identify the person to be transferred (e.g. fingerprints);
d) itineraries and stopovers;
e) residence permits or visas issued abroad.
VI – GENERAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 19
(1) Both Contracting Parties shall provide each other with mutual assistance in the application and interpretation of this Agreement. They shall keep each other informed of immigration requirements for aliens.
(2) Each Contracting Party may request that experts of the two Contracting Parties meet with a view to resolving any problems associated with the application or the implementation of this Agreement.
Article 20
All transport costs incurred in connection with readmission and transit as far as the border of the requested Contracting Party, or the border of the country of destination, as well as the costs linked to a possible return, shall be borne by the requesting Contracting Party.
Article 21
(1) Within 30 days after the date of signature, the Contracting Parties shall notify each other of the authority responsible for implementation of this Agreement and its address and provide a list of entry and exit points where readmission and transit will be carried out.
(2) The Contracting Parties shall immediately notify each other through diplomatic channels of the changes related to paragraph 1 of the present Article.
(3) For the purpose of the implementation of this Agreement, the Contracting Parties shall conclude a Protocol on:
– the procedures, documents, applications and other information for the implementation of readmission or transit,
– the methods of payment and costs in accordance with Article 20 of this Agreement.
Article 22
This Agreement does not affect the obligations of the Contracting Parties arising from:
– the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, signed at Geneva on 28 July 1951, as amended by the Protocol, signed at New York on 31 January 1967;
– the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 4 November 1950;
– international conventions and agreements on the extradition, admission, readmission or transit of nationals and aliens.
Article 23
This Agreement shall also apply to the territory of the Principality of Liechtenstein and to nationals of the Principality of Liechtenstein.
Article 24
(1) Each Contracting Party may suspend, in whole or in part, the implementation of this Agreement by giving notification to the other Contracting Party in writing of important reasons, in particular on the grounds of the protection of State security, public order or public health. The Contracting Parties shall notify each other of the cancellation of any such measure without delay via diplomatic channels.
(2) Suspension shall become effective on the first day of the month following the month in which the notification was received by the other Contracting Party.
Article 25
(1) This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period of time.
(2) This Agreement shall enter into force on the day of the receipt of the last notification by which the Contracting Parties inform each other of the fulfilment of the internal legal requirements necessary for its entry into force.
(3) Each Contracting Party may terminate this Agreement by giving notice in writing to the other Contracting Party. The termination shall become effective 30 days after the date of receipt of that notice.
Done at Bern this 27 day of July 2004, in two original copies, each in the Slovenian, German and English language, all texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence in the interpretation of this Agreement the English version shall prevail.
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P R O T O C O L
ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT
OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA AND THE SWISS FEDERAL COUNCIL ON THE
READMISSION OF PERSONS WITH
UNAUTHORISED STAYS
The Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Slovenia and the Federal Department of Justice and Police of the Swiss Confederation (hereinafter referred to as the Contracting Parties), on the basis of the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 21 of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Swiss Federal Council on the Readmission of Persons with Unauthorised Stays (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement), have agreed as follows
I – Information and procedures regarding nationals
of the Contracting Parties (Articles 2 and 3
of the Agreement)
Article 1
1) Nationality may be proved by presenting:
for the Republic of Slovenia:
a) a valid identity card;
b) a valid passport, a group passport, a diplomatic passport, an official passport, a laissez-passer or other passports that can be issued to Slovenian nationals in accordance with international agreements;
c) a certificate of nationality;
d) a valid seaman’s book.
for the Swiss Confederation:
a) a valid passport;
b) a valid identity card;
c) a provisional attestation of identity;
d) a family book mentioning the place of origin in Switzerland.
2) If these documents are presented, the authorities of the requested Contracting Party shall recognise the person's nationality and no further examination will be required.
Article 2
1) A presumption of nationality may be established in particular by means of:
a) any copy of documents listed in Article 1 of this Protocol;
b) any documents listed in Article 1 of this Protocol whose validity has expired;
c) driving licence or its copy;
d) birth certificate or its copy;
e) statements by witnesses;
f) particulars supplied by the person who is in the process of readmission;
g) any document proving membership of armed forces or police authorities of the Contracting Parties;
h) any document issued by state authorities from which it is possible to presume the nationality of a person;
i) the language of the person concerned through linguistic expertise;
j) comparison of fingerprints that are registered in the other Contracting Party’s fingerprint files.
2) In this case, nationality is considered to have been established provided the requested Contracting Party confirms it.
Article 3
If the requesting Contracting Party considers that the person in the process of readmission does in fact have the nationality of the requested Contracting Party, it shall send the requested Contracting Party the following written information about him or her:
a) first and family names, maiden name if appropriate;
b) date and place of birth;
c) last known address in the state of the requested Contracting Party;
d) type, serial number, length of validity of his or her passport or other travel documents as well as details of the issuing authorities and a photocopy of the travel document;
e) any document or information which can prove or presume the nationality of the person in the process of readmission.
Article 4
If the person is in need of medical care, the requesting Contracting Party shall also provide, if this is in the interest of the person in the process of readmission, a description of his or her state of health including copies of any medical certificates and information about the need for special treatment, such as medical or other care, supervision, or transport by ambulance.
Article 5
The readmission application of a national is to be sent per fax directly or submitted in writing to the competent authorities of the requested Contracting Party.
Article 6
The requested Contracting Party must inform the requesting Contracting Party of its decision in the shortest period of time, within 10 working days at the latest after receiving the application. The rejection of the submitted readmission application shall be explained in written form.
Article 7
The readmission of the person mentioned in the application is not to be executed until the requested Contracting Party has given its consent.
II – Information and procedures regarding aliens
(Article 6 of the Agreement)
Article 8
Proof of the actual entry or residence of an alien into or on the territory of the requested Contracting Party shall be established by means of:
a) entry or departure stamp or other remarks affixed to authentic, faked or forged travel documents or identity papers;
b) short term or long term residence permit that expired less than 1 year ago;
c) visa that expired less than 1 year ago;
d) personal travel tickets, which can formally establish the proof of entry of the person in the process of readmission, either into the territory of the requested Contracting Party or into the territory of the requesting Contracting Party, indicating the place of departure;
e) border control stamp of a third country border crossing point at the common border with the requested Contracting Party, taking into account the itinerary and the date of the border crossing of the person in the process of readmission.
Article 9
A presumption of the entry or residence of an alien into or on the territory of the requested Contracting Party may be established in particular by means of:
a) documents issued by the competent authorities of the requested Contracting Party, which specify the identity of the person in the process of readmission, especially driving licence, seaman’s book, weapon certificate etc.;
b) marital status document;
c) short term or long term residence permit that expired more than 1 year ago;
d) photocopy of any of the documents under Article 8 of this Protocol;
e) comparison of fingerprints taken by the requested Contracting Party at an earlier date;
f) travel tickets;
g) hotel bills;
h) any vehicles used by the person in the process of readmission that are registered on the territory of the requested Contracting Party;
i) cards providing access to public and private premises;
j) appointment cards for doctors, dentists etc.;
k) receipts of currency exchanges in the possession of the person in the process of readmission;
l) official unequivocal information provided by a civil servant;
m) unequivocal and sufficiently detailed particulars provided by the person in the process of readmission on objectively verifiable facts;
n) statements on the person in the process of readmission made by witnesses and recorded by the competent authorities which confirm his or her entry into or residence on the territory of the requested Contracting Party;
o) verifiable information proving that the person in the process of readmission has used the services of a travel agency or a trafficker.
Article 10
The application form for the readmission of an alien shall contain the following written information about him or her:
a) first and family names, maiden name if appropriate;
b) date and place of birth;
c) nationality;
d) precise description of proofs and presumptions which can establish or presume a stay or a transit in the territory of the requested Contracting Party according to the Agreement;
e) type, serial number, length of validity of his or her passport or other travel documents if they exist as well as details of the issuing authorities.
Article 11
If the person is in need of medical care, the requesting Contracting Party shall also provide, if this is in the interest of the person in the process of readmission, a description of his or her state of health including copies of any medical certificates and information about the need for special treatment, such as medical or other care, supervision, or transport by ambulance.
Article 12
The readmission application of an alien is to be sent per fax directly or submitted in writing to the competent authorities of the requested Contracting Party.
Article 13
The requested Contracting Party must inform the requesting Contracting Party of its decision in the shortest period of time, within 10 working days at the latest after receiving the application. The rejection of the submitted readmission application shall be explained in written form.
Article 14
The readmission of the person mentioned in the application is not to be executed until the requested Contracting Party has given its consent.
III – Information and procedures regarding transit
(Article 9 of the Agreement)
Article 15
The transit application form must contain the following information about the person in the process of transit:
a) first and family names, maiden name if appropriate;
b) date and place of birth;
c) nationality;
d) last known address in the destination country;
e) the type, serial number, and length of validity of their passport or other travel documents, as well as details of the issuing authorities and a photocopy of the travel document;
f) an explanation confirming that the conditions pursuant to Article 8 of the Agreement have been fulfilled and that there is no reason known to refuse transit in accordance with Article 17 of the Agreement;
g) indication of the border crossing point as well as the time of transit.
Article 16
If the person is in need of medical care, the requesting Contracting Party shall also provide, if this is in the interest of the person in process of transit, a description of his or her state of health, including copies of any medical certificates and information about the need for special treatment, such as medical or other care, supervision, or transport by ambulance.
Article 17
The transit application is to be sent per fax directly or submitted in writing to the competent authorities of the requested Contracting Party.
Article 18
The requested Contracting Party must inform the requesting Contracting Party of its decision in the shortest period of time, within 3 working days at the latest after receiving the application. The rejection of the submitted transit application shall be explained in written form.
Article 19
If the requested Contracting Party accepts an application, the transit must be carried out within 30 days from the date of the reply.
Article 20
The time and method of the transit (flight number, departure and arrival times, personal details of any escorting officials) must be agreed directly between the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties.
IV – Methods of payment and costs
(Article 20 of the Agreement)
Article 21
The costs shall be calculated in accordance with the regulations in force of the requested Contracting Party.
Article 22
The costs which cannot be settled directly by the requesting Contracting Party, shall be reimbursed within 30 days after receipt of the invoice to the bank account of the competent authority of the requested Contracting Party.
V – General and final provisions
Article 23
For the implementation of this Protocol, officials of the Contracting Parties shall use the English language unless otherwise agreed between officials in each individual case.
Article 24
This Protocol may be amended by agreement between the Contracting Parties.
Article 25
This Protocol shall enter into force and shall terminate on the same date as the Agreement.
Done at Bern this 27 day of July 2004, in two original copies, each in the Slovenian, German and English language, all texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence in the interpretation of this Protocol the English version shall prevail.
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